Sarcosine and Glycine Conjugation

I am virtually certain that impaired glycine conjugation is the cause of my sensitivity issues and have tried the following products to combat the problem:

TMG (Trimethyl Glycine)

Plain Glycine

Sarcosine (Monomethyl glycine)

DMG (Dimethyl Glycine)

The first product that I tried was TMG and after much trial and error, I found that it must be taken with methyl folate to be effective.  If either one was taken alone or without the other, it would leave me worse off than if I had taken neither of them.  Although it did allow me to tolerate a few other supplements that I could not take before, I remained baffled by the severe negative reactions to certain pills such as Whole Food C. 

Plain glycine appeared to be a miracle at first.  It completely eliminated the sensitivity.  Then, in what I described as the Ultimate in Cruelty, I became sensitive to the glycine.  This sensitivity later evolved into a complete intolerance.  To make matters worse, by this time, some form of glycine was necessary for me to function.  Simply not taking it or the problem pills was not an option.

Sarcosine also appeared to be nothing short of miraculous early but once again, I became sensitive to it.  Fortunately, after 2.5 months, I can still tolerate at least 1 scoop (1 gram).  The problem is that one scoop is not quite enough to eliminate the sensitivity.  I am not interested in reducing the sensitivity to a manageable level.  I will not tolerate ANY negative reaction to something as healthy as Whole Food C and I suspect that other must take pills are now giving me problems if I don’t take Sarcosine.  For these reasons, I’ve decided to go with 2 scoops for better or worse. 

Early signs indicate that YES, the sensitivity is completely gone and so is the depression.  However, my tolerance to methyl glycine appears to be limited and thus, it may slow me down if I exceed 1 gram.  I’ve said it over and over again that I am more than willing to sacrifice some speed for stability and freedom from depression and sensitivity.  Now, this trade opportunity could become a reality.  Yes, I will keep my word and gladly accept it. 

Any ideas why this is happening:

First, the reason why I can tolerate at least 1 gram of Sarcosine (Methyl glycine) but not plain glycine is likely the same reason why many people (myself included) cannot tolerate folic acid but need methyl folate instead.  There is a genetic mutation in play. 

As far as the TMG vs Sarcosine, I don’t fully understand the difference but I do know that if everything is working properly, the TMG will eventually be converted to Sarcosine but it requires at least 2 additional steps in the conversion process to produce glycine.  If certain enzymes are defective, something could go wrong.  The Sarcosine is a direct pathway and it appears to perform all the necessary functions as TMG.  Consider this analogy. I want to get a flight to Philadelphia next Spring for the Delmarva road trip.  I can do it directly so why risk problems with connections by stopping in Chicago and/or Charlotte? 

My tolerance to methyl glycine is limited at least for the time being.  TMG counts toward my limit but it’s not effective in combating sensitivity to Whole Food C.  Let’s suppose that my limit is 1500 and I take 1000 Sarcosine and 1000 TMG as I have been doing.  1000+1000 puts me over the top but I only get benefit from the 1000 Sarcosine so TMG is useless now.  I only took DMG for 1 day but got a similar reaction to the TMG.  Perhaps taking the Mono-Methyl together with the Tri-methyl somehow confuses my system?  It’s a thought but either way, both the DMG and TMG go in the trash.  Same with the plain glycine.  In that case however, because Sarcosine is effective in regulating glycine concentrations, plain glycine becomes a non-factor.  It’s a harmless placebo but I want to clear some space in my cabinet. 

Caffeine is a methyl donor and I’ve observed multiple instances in which I ran significantly WORSE after taking caffeine.  This seems to be especially true when I go over 1 scoop of Sarcosine.  That stuff has GOT to go and hopefully, this is the last time I will say that.  I will not even allow a cheat day once a week.  If I slip up once, just get back up immediately. 

Bottom line:

It is probable that 2 scoops of Sarcosine is the minimum effective dosage in combating the sensitivity.  It might be more than I can handle and thus cause me to slow down.  It’s a price that I am more than willing to pay.  Cutting out the caffeine and the TMG MIGHT VERY WELL increase the tolerance to Sarcosine.  If that’s true, I’ve got it WON!  Either way, I expect the final resolution will come by the end of the month though the effect on my running speed may not be known for sure until the Fall.